https://jarawas.com/blogs/news.atomWE ARE HUMANITY, the Jarawa feature documentary - News2019-01-21T16:33:00+01:00WE ARE HUMANITY, the Jarawa feature documentaryhttps://jarawas.com/blogs/news/all-the-truth-behind-the-american-missionarys-death-in-the-andamans2019-01-21T16:33:00+01:002019-01-21T17:54:03+01:00All the truth behind the american missionary's death in the AndamansAlexandre DEREIMS

November 21, an American missionary died under the arrows of the Sentinels. These Afro-Asian people live on the Andaman archipelago in India. They have always defended themselves against any intrusion on their island because they know that contacts with our world will precipitate the end of their people. But they are not the only Afro-Asian peoples to be threatened and to defend themselves with their bows. Their cousins, the Jarawas, are forced to defend themselves against poachers who come to kill them. They told us about it in our documentary film "We are Humanity".

The Jarawas, like the Sentinels, are fighting against their disappearance planned by the Indian government. The Jarawas are victims of a photo safari organized by the Indian army. Every day, dozens of tourists in 4x4s take pictures of Jarawas along a road that crosses their forest. Undefended, the Jarawas are forced to stay by the roadside by local police. It's a human zoo. And now, the Indian government has begun to widen this road to bring in more tourists. This year, the government opened "special schools" to re-educate Jarawas children. They are forced to attend re-education classes to become Indians. It is forced assimilation, a crime against humanity. There are only 400 Jarawas left. Afro-Asian peoples have lived here for 50,000 years.

They are the most ancient of the peoples in the world. They are all being assimilated by force and disappearing. Until a few decades ago, the Onges lived quietly on a neighbouring island. The Indian government forced them to abandon their beautiful beaches and put hotels in them for tourists. The Indian police gave them tobacco and alcohol. They forbade them to hunt. The Onges are disappearing. There are only 80 of them left! For the Indian government, the jarawas, the Onges and the Sentinels are just "savages" whom they try to soften with some fruits and tools. Then they treat like animals in a circus by bringing in tourists. They re-educate them to destroy their way of life and drive them out of their territory to build luxury hotels.

But no one seems to care what the Indian government does for Afro-Asian peoples. No matter that these peoples disappear, in the press, we prefer to question the moral right of these peoples to kill and defend themselves.

The Sentinels killed him with their arrows. In the press, this event raised many questions and comments about social networks. Should we try the Sentinels for this murder? Does morality apply in this particular case? In the film we shot, the Jarawas told us that they killed ten poachers who came to attack them on their beaches. They were armed with Kalashnikovs. Self-defense? Should we judge them? Is it moral to give death even if one's own life is in danger? Should the other cheek be turned? You see how the notion of morality challenges us, divides us.

Jarawas and Sentinels live in the world of truth and falsehood and not in the world of good and evil. The Jarawas know what is true and what is false. They don't even ask themselves the question of evil or good. They do not envisage that another member of the clan could attack, deceive or steal from them. They do not plan to do so to others. That's why they have no notion of morality. It is not a question of discipline, of following a code, in order to do good or not to do evil. There is no moral authority, no court, no judgments or sanctions. Acting against the general interest is simply unthinkable. For us, this can be difficult to understand and accept. But not all Jarawas and Sentinels ask themselves these questions. They live in the real world. The reality is that they feel their lives are in danger if the humans of our world arrive on their beaches. And it's not because of any belief. No, they know that strangers, we, have only death and desolation to bring them. It happened to other Afro-Asian peoples, their brothers, the Onge and the Great Andamanians who have disappeared. They know that it starts with a small group of explorers and ends in ethnocide. Rethink the indigenous peoples of South America, the Aborigines, the Papuans... The Jarawas and the Presidiums are lucid and their judgment is not altered by beliefs or codes of conduct.

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https://jarawas.com/blogs/news/do-you-know-what-is-really-going-on-with-the-people-of-the-andaman-islands-its-forced-assimilation-a-genocide-of-the-most-ancient-of-the-peoples2019-01-21T14:05:00+01:002019-01-21T16:01:00+01:00Do you know what is really going on with the people of the Andaman Islands? It's forced assimilation! A genocide of the most ancient of the peoples.Alexandre DEREIMS

The children you see in these pictures are Jarawas. They had always stayed with their parents who educated and cared for them. In our film, you see these children playing freely in the jungle, at the beach.

This year, in 2018, the Indian government forces them to come to "special schools", supposedly to teach them to count in Hindi. Like they need this. They know how to count very well in their language! These poor little ones, dressed in uniforms while they live naked, sad as stones, it breaks my heart! The worst thing is that the local press wrote that to attract children to schools, the government would give them bananas! A racist policy is in place in the Andaman Islands. The government definitely wants to eliminate the Afro-Asian peoples who have lived in the archipelago for 50,000 years. It is an ethnocide against the oldest peoples of the world!

We cannot longer close our eyes! The Jarawas are now only 400 and they are victims of a human zoo! The road that crosses their forest and is the scene of a photo safari for Indian tourists, this road is being widened. At the moment, on this road, in addition to the columns of 4X4 tourists, there are dozens of trucks. The workers cut down trees and spread bitumen. It's apocalyptic!

The government has chosen once and for all that this road will be the north-south communication axis of the island of Greater Andamans. It will stop the ferries that allow you to travel from one end of the island to the other without passing through the Jarawa territory! It's criminal! It's criminal! The Indian government considers the Jarawas to be savages.

The genocide of Afro-Asian peoples is about to succeed! After the Onge who were assimilated, there are only 80 of them left, the Indian government has opened "special schools" for children Jarawas to destroy their culture and way of life and now, they are destroying their forest to make it pass even more of tourists. There are only 400 Jarawas left.

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https://jarawas.com/blogs/news/we-are-humanity-selected-at-without-borders-film-festival-in-bad-saarow-germany2017-09-14T19:25:00+02:002017-09-14T19:25:37+02:00We are Humanity selected at Without Borders Film Festival in Bad Saarow, GermanyAlexandre DEREIMS

Screening will take place Saturday September 16th at 5pm. Q&A with the director, Alexandre Dereims.

Read there the whole article:

Some extracts from the article:

"Few know the story of the Jarawa people. On seeing their dark skin and Afro-textured hair, one might wonder how they got to Asia, but the Jarawa and others who look like them can be found in several south and south-east Asian countries. Following the “Out Of Africa” theory of human evolution, modern humans stem from a single group of Homo sapiens who emigrated from Africa and populated the world. The Jarawa are said to be descended from some of the first humans to leave Africa.

“No one ever told us where we came from,” says Telo, a Jarawa man who appears in the documentary We Are Humanity. “I don’t know; maybe we reached here by boat.” Director Alexandre Dereims believes the Jarawa travelled from Africa during the Ice Age and were isolated on the Andaman Islands at the end of that geological period.

Dereims and producer Claire Beilvert have dedicated their lives to making impactful documentaries focused on people who are fighting for their freedom. After becoming aware of the threat facing the Jarawa, they teamed up with a crew of Indian activists to capture their stories. The Jarawa may once have been curious about the outside world, but that has changed, as they now face new challenges.

The Andaman Islands are a tourist hub for the Indian middle class. Tour companies offer packages featuring colonial historical sites, the tropical rainforest, pristine beaches and rich marine life, and hikes on nature trails. Attractions often include a drive along the Andaman Trunk Road, which cuts through Jarawa territory. Dozens of tourist buses, flanked by military vehicles, drive through the Jarawa reserve four times a day in what has come to be described as a human zoo. Companies lure tourists with the promise of seeing the Jarawa in person. It was on such a trip that the video of Jarawa women being made to dance for food was shot. Although it is illegal to take photos in the Jarawa reserve, it happens. Photos and videos of the Jarawa are available on the Internet and are sold in markets.

This twisted fascination with the Jarawa is plain racism. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the stereotypes attached to Africans living in India are attached to the Jarawa. Foremost is cannibalism, which has been traced to Arab and Persian documentation on the Andaman Islands. The association of cannibalism with the indigenous people can also be found in 19th century European records.

Alexandre reiterates that the average Indian is merely curious about the Jarawa and wants to know more about them. It is a small group of politicians and locals, he says, who want to wipe them out. Why? Well, Jarawa territory includes beautiful beaches and reserves, and the government has economic plans to build the largest port on the Indian Ocean there.

Contact with the outside world is also affecting their way of life, which has hardly changed in millennia. Even though they prefer to live traditionally, there are bits and pieces of the outside world that look incongruous in the Jarawa setting. Some women wear clothes, one man wears a watch, others wear rings. They use torches and cook in metal pots. There are T-shirts, hats, shorts…all given to them by Indians. They own plastic bottles, mirrors and their hair is clipped with scissors.

Outside influence has not always been positive or innocuous: The Jarawa have been offered tobacco and alcohol, which some tribe members say they have been forced to drink. Other indigenous people, such as the Onge, have growing rates of alcoholism and drug use. In 2014, it emerged that Jarawa women were being sexually exploited by Indian poachers.The Jarawa have travelled to meet with Indian authorities but their complaints have been ignored. They say the outside world is bad and they do not want to see tourists or poachers.

We Are Humanity is part of a campaign to educate the world about the Jarawa people and put pressure on Indian authorities to protect them from extinction. They do not want to be assimilated into Indian society and they have taken the peaceful route by trying to communicate this with the rest of the world. We Are Humanity captures their voices in an intimate portrait of their lives. We see tasks ranging from the mundane – fishing, fetching honey, making baskets – to the touching: In one scene a woman paints her husband’s face with clay, the standard make-up for the Jarawa.

Some infantalise the Jarawa by comparing them to children, describing them as childlike and innocent. The documentary, however, shows us that they are much like anyone else in the world. Yaday shares the story of how he fell in love with his wife Yonukay, attesting that “we’ll never split up”. Kids are seen playing with their fathers. Their way of life should not be dismissed as “simple” or “uncivilised” simply because it differs from ours. They do not need the outside word to live fulfilling lives."

We Are Humanity, the film trailer

195,000 people have signed the petition to keep the Jarawa people SAFE. Sign here :

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https://jarawas.com/blogs/news/international-day-of-the-indigenous-peoples-the-jarawa-people-are-more-at-risk-than-ever2017-08-11T15:41:00+02:002017-08-11T16:05:12+02:00International Day of the Indigenous Peoples : the Jarawa People are more at risk than ever.Alexandre DEREIMS

Despite the recent arrests, during the last months, more and more poachers have been entering the Jarawa territory to hunt illegally their game. They are harassing the Jarawa communities, giving them tobacco and alcohol. Clock is ticking, the Jarawa people are more at risk than ever.

The Jarawa’s territory is patrolled 24/7 by the Indian army and no one can enter there without the complicity of the Andaman authorities. But lot of poachers go on hunting and starving the Jarawas. Wild meat is sold in the Indian local markets.

The Indian government ignore the Jarawa’s call for self-determination. They have opened special school to « educate » them. They said they will give them bananas to make them go to these schools. There is no policy to protect the Jarawa people. The local government has decided to build a railway trough their forest and the building works will take months and destroy the Jarawa people for ever.

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https://jarawas.com/blogs/news/thanks-to-womens-march-global-for-sharing-the-jarawa-campaign2017-08-06T19:38:00+02:002017-08-06T19:42:15+02:00Thanks to Women's March Global for sharing the Jarawa CampaignAlexandre DEREIMS

This week, on their facebook page, Women's March Global have shared the story of the Jarawa people and the outreach campaign to keep them safe.

For our next installment of Season of Love: Celebrating Activism we are sharing the story of an indigenous people threatened by tourism and development in India. Over the course of the week we will share the story of the Jarawa people and their fight to their right to live their life.

The Jarawa are one of the last afro-Asians people of the world. These hunters-gatherers are living in the Andaman Islands, in India, for thousands and thousands of years. According to recent studies, they are believed to have taken part in the very first human migrations from Africa to the rest of the world, some 70,000 years ago. And they first encountered Indian citizens only a decade ago.

Since then, the Andaman islands had become the top touristic destination. Indian government wants to transform the archipelago into the country’s first maritime hub and build the largest port on the Indian ocean in Port Blair, the capital city.

The situation of the Jarawa people has severely deteriorated. Women have been abducted and raped by Indians. They are are also victims of human safaris photos, organised by local tour operators and the Indian army. Yet, it is forbidden to enter their territory, subject to prison sentences.

Sign the petition today so that we can amplify this story and keep working towards ensuring the right of life of the Jarawa people and considering donating to get a code to watch this amazing documentary. "

The Indian government and his local representative, Bishnu Pada Ray, have definitely crossed the red line by opening five « schools » for the Jarawa people. They call it « Hotspot » and 150 Jarawas kids will be forced to attend to Ongan language courses. Arun Kumar Jha, the Executive Secretary of the AAJV, the government body in charge of the protection of the Jarawas said : « To prevent any drop-outs we have started distributing bananas to students. » Yes, they give them bananas…

The Jarawa people are already victims of one of the worst racists people in the world. The Indian wealthy tourists that take the Andaman Trunk Road which cuts trough the Jarawa territory. Imagine dozens of cars loaded with tourists throwing bananas by their window car to few Jarawa people by force gathered on the side of the road to be photographed. A human zoo. I have witnessed it. Inside the car, Indian tourists were excited and they were joking about these primitives cannibals and questioning their identity as a human beings.

The Jarawa people are already threaten by poachers who hunt illegally their game, with the complicity of the forest guards who work for the AAJV. Jarawas women have kidnapped and raped. Children have died because of wrong medication given by Indian doctors. The economical development of the Andaman Islands is on tracks with a brand new harbor, the biggest in the Indian Ocean to be built soon and the opening of an international airport to pour in thousands of tourists coming from Phuket or Shanghai. Last month, the Indian government was proud to say that the Jarawa population has reached 480 people. In the same time, they have stated that they will build a railway crossing the Jarawa territory. Now, they have decided to destroy the Jarawa culture with these « schools ». They pretend to teach the Jarawas their own language, it’s a nonsense. They lure them with bananas like the tourists on the human zoo road. They will force 150 kids to go to these « schools », this is almost all of the young Jarawas.

Bishnu Pada Ray (@andamanmp) has informed the Indian parliament that the Jarawas are willing to join the mainstream, and that they need to be educated. The BJP MP of the Andaman Islands is a liar and he will be hold accountable for the destruction the Jarawa culture. The Jarawas have always being denied to express their will. We are the only journalists and film makers who have risked 7 years behind bars to ask them the question : « Do you want to become Indians ? » and their answer is crystal clear : « We don’t want to be part of the outside world. We don ‘t want any contacts with the outside world. We want to stay as we are ? »

Today, this is the beginning of the end. We are facing the ethnocide of the last black indigenous people in the Andaman Islands. After the British army killed all the Great Andamanese people, after the Indian government wiped out almost all the Onge in the little Andaman, they are repeating history by destroying the life and the culture of the Jarawas. They are the last of the original inhabitants of Asia, who have travelled from Africa 70,000 years ago. It’s important to stand against the Indian Government, the BJP’s racist policy and preserve the last of the first humans.

We have launched a petition to keep the Jarawa people safe. Join the 165,000 people who have already signed it.

http://www.organicthejarawa.com/sign-the-petition

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https://jarawas.com/blogs/news/we-are-humanity-the-jarawa-documentary-is-in-competition-at-one-world-film-festival-in-prague-next-march2017-02-26T15:15:00+01:002017-02-26T15:19:09+01:00We are Humanity, the Jarawa documentary is in competition at One World Film Festival in Prague next MarchAlexandre DEREIMS

We are Humanity, the Jarawa documentary is selected to compete at One World, the famous International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in Prague next March.

World Premiere will takes place at Svetozor cinema in Prague March 7th, at 7.30 pm local time.

https://www.oneworld.cz/2017/filmy-a-z/33864-we-are-humanity

At this occasion, we will organize a Digital World Premiere, by sending online screening links by email to the movie industry, to our volunteers and customers in order to watch the full film for free. In the coming months, we will also organize free community screenings in order to raise more and more awareness and get more signatures for the petition.

For their own protection, you are not allowed to meet them. For tens of thousands of years, the Jarawa have been self-sufficient hunter-gatherers, living in harmony with nature on India’s Andaman Islands. But their way of life was turned upside down with the mass arrival of tourists at the start of the 2000s. Disturbing reports document "human safaris", sexual abuse of women, as well as the introduction of alcohol and tobacco. Our reporter went to meet this population, who risk dying out.

Deep in the Indian Ocean, a few hundred kilometres from India, the Andaman Islands archipelago has become the El Dorado of the Indian middle class. Each year, thousands of tourists enjoy the coral beaches of this little corner of paradise on Earth with its stunning landscape. It is also a strategic location, where the government has chosen to build the Indian Ocean’s largest port. But this spectacular economic development comes at the expense of the Afro-Asian peoples who live in the archipelago and who are among the last primitive tribes on the planet.

50000 people have signed the petition to save the Jarawa http://www.organicthejarawa.com/sign-the-petition

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https://jarawas.com/blogs/news/57099845-connect-with-us-on-facebook2015-10-09T00:10:00+02:002015-10-09T00:12:53+02:00Connect with us on FacebookAlexandre MARTINConnect with us on Facebook